Louisiana rep: randomly test Congress for drug use

"I have observed some behavior that would cause one to wonder," Clay Higgins, joking, said in an interview with USA Today Network.

Author:
Greg Hilburn, USA TODAY Network

Published:
4:55 AM CDT September 14, 2018

Updated:
4:55 AM CDT September 14, 2018

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins believes his colleagues in the House and Senate should be randomly tested for drugs.

Does the Republican from Acadiana know something we don't?

"I have observed some behavior that would cause one to wonder," Higgins, joking, said in an interview with USA Today Network.

Higgins introduced House Concurrent Resolution 135 Thursday that seeks to make senators and representatives subject to drug screenings once every term.

“Elected officials in Washington, D.C. should be subject to the same kind of random drug screenings that blue-collar, working-class Americans have to endure," Higgins said in a press release.

"Congress shouldn’t get to live by a different set of rules," he said. "This effort is about maintaining accountability and ensuring sober service to We, the People.”

Higgins, a first-term congressman who rose to fame on YouTube as "the Cajun John Wayne" through his creative Crime Stoppers videos, retains his certification as a deputy marshal.

Early this year, Higgins proposed mandatory drug testing in a Facebook video filmed after he completed a random drug screening for the Lafayette City Marshal’s Office.

Louisiana Democratic Party executive director Stephen Handwerk criticized the proposal on Twitter as a gimmick and touted Higgins' opponent, Mimi Methvin, who the party has endorsed in the 3rd District race.

"When you haven't delivered at all for your district I guess all you have is gimmicks and bravado," Handwerk tweeted. "Let's send (Methvin) to Congress to get results and no more gimmicks."

"This isn't a stunt," Higgins said. "It's not about shaming or embarrassing or ending members' careers. It's about our body adhering to the same standards almost every other working man and woman is held to on the job. We should be reflective of the people."

Members of Congress would have to reimburse taxpayers for all costs of the program under Higgins' legislation.

If a member tested positive for illegal drug use, he or she would be reported to the Committee on Ethics.

Those investigations aren't open to the public.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1